The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-20
r1NNETY,s FORTUNE.
r. Did Not Turn His Head Nor Cause Him
n Go Back on His Poor Relations.

k,I n history resembling IN many respects
shat of many other individuals who struck
:, rich in the golden and silver regions.
To,uteen years ago be was doing his best TO
make a poor farm near Keokuk, Ia, pay,
INIT mortgage after mortgage sank his hopes
o,,r of SIGHT, and at last he was obliged to
t.I,a 10 stoamboating. He ran for some
,;,o. as a deck hand on the river, between
! Enolnk and st. Louis. In 1874 he came
Ee.t attracted by the chances of big pay
and the possibility of running across a for
1nne He went to work as a miner
IN San Luis Park, where he re-
.,,ined mt the Leadviile excitement broke
ont Then he crossed the Mosquito Range
ard became a jobber on Friar Hill He
WED two span of mules and was hauling
W.. to the smelterS, when one day he discoy-
ored The Little Chief" Taking the Dillon
IrorhAIs in with him they worked the claim
until they struck mineral. Almost imme-
Giatcly the mine was bonded for few weeks
I'm Chicago syndicate, headed by Farwell,
Ono Maid $4,000 down, and were to pay
S9g goo more on the date when the bond
synired In the meantime Fnnerty and the
1iilms found that they had let millions slip
Nv the sale and they did everything in their
nI1yer to prevent the Chicago parties from
Ecorying out their share of the contract
Tie telegraph wires were repeatedly cut
20 Ms to prevent communication between the
Jeadvilie and Chicago ends of the bargain,
and that the sellers might at any rate get as
mich as possible out of the mine, they put a
lot of men to work in it, and gophered it for
nearly $50, 900 worth of mineral. The Chi
capoans appreciated the good thing which
they had, and made sure of completing the
sale They sent the $500, 900 balance in
rreenbacks from Denver by messenger,
Who had an escort of six men, headed
by the late w. Frank Smith, a
Rocky Mountain detective. The party
rode to the end of the Denver and South
Park railway, and then took mules across
the mountains. They arrived in Leadville
at noon of the day for the payment of the
money, and it was counted out to MesSrS
Fjnnerty q billions in Tabor Bank, and
thev parted with Little Chief forever
Soon after selling the Little Chief" Fin
nerty disappeared from Leadville. At this
time Col. JOIN Atkins, of the Rocky
Mountain NelUS, who was his intimate and
confidential friend, says he had deposited
there in bank to his credit 100000
During the years he had been away from
his former home in Iowa a brother had
died leaving a large family dependent upon
the product of a badly mortgaged farm A
ssteron another farm had also been over
taken by family bereavement, and her
financial condition was no better than that
0t lef DTOUu6i > WIG. IeUef
appeared upon the scene. The story of his
sudden wealth had not reached the farm
beighborhood in which years before
he had struggled poor, honest,
bard-worl1ing farmer. Without max
ng known the real purpose of his mission,
BE- under some pretext or other, took the
two widows and their children to neighbor-
hg city. Here the little ones were all dressed
apin tailor-made clothes, the best money
10 i L
furnished with a suitable gold watch and
chain. The aStonished children were taken
pack to their mothers, who were left at the
pest hotel i'll the city, while Peter went out
with the children ''for walk Their de-
light and establishment knew no bounds
Nextthe women folks were declIed out in cost
" raiment and given elegant gold watches.
They protested against the extravaganza,
md with tears in their eyes said all these
ine clothes and gold watches were enough,
but the money they had cost would go far
toward wiping out the mortgages on their
farms. With a goOd-natured smile Peter
told them to never mind the farms, they
would be taken care of in good time. Two
panS of fine horses with harness and car
hageS, were next purchased and ordered in
front of the hotel, and there inspected by
the astOnished families.
Peter had not yet got through He next
b the credit of each widow, presenting
them with bank books and blank checks.
| BY the time Peter had gone this far he was
the talk of the city in which this had taken
place, but the great-hearted Irishman was
bot yet through. With their elegant
squlpages the entire party set out for their
lFmer homes, less than twenty miles.
On the way they halted long
enough at the county seat where the mort
cages on their farms were paid off and clear
leeds handed over to the overjoyed widows,
whose rainy eyes and happy hearts spoke
ouder than words of the most eloquent ora
or day or two later Peter left the
neighborhood, and in due time put in an APP
Rearance at Leadville. He told the story to
Col. Atkins as it is here, enjoining him To
make no talk This was the bright side of
1lS adventures after the sale of the Little
Chief
There is a dark side also During Fin
hertys absence his wife was persuaded into
securing divorce from him, ana she mar
ned another man. Peter knew this, and
9lS generous treatment of the other folks
mad IN 1t something of the spirit of Irish re-
Venge, and it aroused the former wife to
acton. She brought suit against Peter for
$4,000 for the maintenance of his three
daughters, aged now respectively %, 10,
m4 10 years. The father used to send for
we children, who were brought to his
aDlel when he visited Keokuk.
but one day the former Mrs. Fin
lerty and her lawyers swooped down
lPon him, and from that time ON he was
eoIged to shun Iowa, and always remained
a'roSS the river when he visited that sec
ION Lawyers and detectives were after
glIh everywhere and tried to make IT, ouble
.or nm, but he at last, through a Catholic
E.4esC, secured a release of the children for
@'ooO' The children were placed in a semi
u'Iy at davenport, where they were kept
null SIX months ago. Then Peter moved
~ YEN TO the Convent of the Sacred Heart in
st. Louis
Fmnerty had 5000, 900 in United States
G'.uS deposited in st. Louis, over 100000
" Two Denver banks, and his ownership of
we entire New York mine and three-fOurths
tle Frenchman and Belgian may be
Se,e'i at 100000 more, so that his estate is
"Vitu lt least clean $500, 900. He had gone
~ Louis to sell the New York mine, for
"Tich ne had an offer of 100000. After
nuu'S IT he was going to retire from bust
ana live quietly in Denver. But, as
aSeiy as not, he would have kept on opera
sn'S right straight along for he was always
~ nlB ne would be satisfied when he got an
"4er $1,000
h. NJ l Is not known whether he left will, but
w. w., -. Reilly told him in st. Louis a week
~, ~ W edncsday that he could not live long
NV hau better settle up his business. So it
Any DC possible that he provided against
tiu an emergency as has since arisen.
ssaaiutelty was n rather handsome man Of ~,
thihg about 40 pounds, dressing well,